The Issue With Helicopters
by Krazy Ky-Sta Hatter
Summary: After their fight with Antibug, Adrien was left with one nagging thought. He knew that voice. So when he turned on the TV he hadn't been expecting to see his failure captured on national news. Neither had he expected to see his Lady unmasked. Something she hadn't wanted him to know. It was all because of those damn helicopters.


_**Hi!**_

 _ **So, this is a one shot that I had after watching Antibug. As I was watching, I couldn't help thinking that Marinette would have had to interact with Chat Noir at least a little bit when she was saving him… Also that there were totally cameras filming the fight.  
Hope you like!**_

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Chat Noir gulped as he stared at the ground down below him. His stomach plunged as vertigo overtook him. He was no stranger to heights. He loved them... except when he was dangling over the edge of a tall building tied to his own staff!

He could retract it back, even tied up as he was, but it would shrink back towards him, and with his hands and feet tied, he had no way to swing to a window, let alone land safely.

He'd been sliding ever closer to the edge of the staff just moments before, what with Antibug leaning him down so much. But then something had drawn her away. Much to his relief, she had brought him back up, placed a chair to hold him in place, and ran off.

Okay, this was it. He had a moment to get himself out of this, just... how?

Before he could think of anything, he heard footsteps patter across the balcony to the edge and then felt himself being dragged backwards as the staff was pulled in.

"Ladybug?" he asked. He couldn't help his eyes flicking backwards to see her, but all he could see was a head of dark hair before he snapped his eyes back to the front. Going by the fact she had snuck over to save him rather than swinging in, he had a feeling that she hadn't transformed yet. And he wasn't going to look when he knew she didn't want him to.

She grunted slightly as she pulled him in, but soon he felt his toes bump the edge of the balcony. Then nimble fingers started to untie the ropes around his feet. He prepared for the moment that the ropes would no longer hold his weight, making sure that he had a good grip on the ledge with his feet. Once the rope was gone, he felt her hands wrap around his ankles, and he was able to help her slightly in getting him closer to the balcony.

Once he was close enough, he clung to the balcony and shortened his staff back to a baton. Ladybug's arms wrapped around him and started to drag him up over the railings, guiding him to safety.

"Close your eyes!" she hissed. He did so immediately. He couldn't help noticing there was something different about her voice. It was Ladybug's voice, but slightly different. And at the same time it was familiar in a completely different way. "Are they closed."

"Of course, my Lady. I've already told you, I won't look if you don't want me to."

"Thanks, Chat," she said, her voice tender. He could feel her move around him, quickly untying his bonds.

"How are you going?" he asked.

"A right sight better than you," she joked. "How did you even manage to wind up in that situation, Kitty?"

"I'm not quite sure," he told her after a moment. How was he supposed to tell her that Antibug had one upped him because he hesitated? He couldn't tell her that, because she would want to know why. And it wasn't like he could tell her that they were fighting his oldest friend. It had been hard enough fighting Nino, but Chloé? Fighting her, he was too haunted with memories of the girl he'd known his whole life. Sure, she'd always been selfish and snobby, but she did show a different side around her close friends, like him.

She sighed. "I'll come help soon, I promise. My Kwami's almost done recharging."

"Yep," a small voice piped up. "I just need a moment longer."

Chat couldn't help but smile. Ladybug's Kwami sounded as sweet as she was. "You've already helped me out a lot as it is," he told her. "I didn't really have any feet available to land on just then."

Ladybug giggled. "Come on, we should get out of here, she'll be back soon."

He nodded and felt her squeeze his shoulder, and then she was gone. He heard her footsteps as she pattered inside. As soon as he was sure she was out of sight, his eyes snapped open and he leapt into gear. He elongated his staff again, and stuck it back over the railing, knowing it would at least throw Chloé for just a moment.

He shook his head, trying to get the recent interaction with his unmasked Ladybug out of his head. But he couldn't. He knew that the magic of the suit changed how they looked and sounded to people. It didn't change what they saw, but it did confuse them slightly, making them unable to register details properly. It had made his initial search for Ladybug absolutely horrible. Looking for the person behind the mask had been like trying to focus on one feature at a time. Like there was a disconnect between them and reality. He had heard her voice many times. He knew what it sounded like to him. But her civilian voice, though similar was different. And now he just couldn't stop thinking about one thing in particular.

That voice was achingly familiar.

* * *

 **.oOo.**

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It wasn't until later that night that Adrien realised why Ladybug's voice seemed so familiar.

He had spent a long time trying to figure out where he knew it from. It was a voice that he knew quite well, but the knowledge that it had been Ladybug was changing the image in his head, stopping him from coming to a conclusion. If only he could forget she was Ladybug for a moment and just focused on her voice!

With a huff, he flopped on the couch and turned on the TV. He wasn't all that interested in it, but he needed to do something to get his mind off that voice. If he continued to try and figure it out he was going to go nuts. So he flicked through the channels, trying to find something he might find interesting. He was just about to give up and go watch anime on his computer when he landed on a news channel to see himself as Chat Noir.

He smiled as he watched the shots and interviews that they had gotten earlier that day. Of course, he cringed in embarrassment when they showed some areal shots of him dangling over the edge of the building. They just had to show that bit, didn't they? Damn helicopters.

He was about to complain to Plagg when the next shot stunned him silent. He watched with wide eyes as a very familiar girl crept onto the balcony and began to help get him back to solid ground. He could barely hear the reporter wondering who the 'brave civilian who helped Chat Noir' was over the sound of the blood rushing in his ears.

He knew. He knew without a doubt who that was. He knew her from her hair, to her favourite jacket, to the small pink bag at her hip.

"Princess?!"

"What?" Plagg said in confusion, looking at the screen.

It had already moved on from that scene to another, and Adrien scrambled for the remote. He was incredibly glad for all the advanced functions his TV had, including the ability to rewind. He zoomed the TV back a moment to where he had seen her, and pressed pause.

There she was. It was most definitely her. He'd recognise her anywhere. Goodness knows he'd spent long enough sneaking glances at her when she wasn't looking. There had even been times when he had suspected her of being Ladybug.

"Marinette. Plagg, she - she's Marinette!"

"Give the boy some cheese, he finally figured it out," Plagg said sarcastically.

He felt something swell in his chest and he found himself full on grinning. He was incredibly happy. Marinette - his Princess - the pretty, adorable, gutsy girl who sat behind him was his Lady.

An incredulous and joyful laugh sprung from his lips and jumped off the couch, too excited to stay still. He couldn't wait to see her tomorrow. He was so going to tell her. Or at least hint to her. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do, just straight up tell her or give her so many subtle hints that she'd eventually get it.

He wasn't sure how she would react to that, because the way she treated Chat and Adrien were completely different. But he didn't care. He actually _knew_ who Ladybug was. Not just her identity, but _her!_ He knew her favourite colour, and that her parents were so kind and sometimes a little invasive. He knew that she loved to design fashion, that when she was excited she did an adorable little butt wiggle, and that when she was focused on her drawing, she would poke her tongue out, her nose crinkled. He knew both sides of her, and it made him incredibly happy to know that.

That night he didn't stop smiling, even when he fell asleep. Plagg just sighed and shook his head. His charge was a love struck idiot.

* * *

 **.oOo.**

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If anyone were to describe how Adrien Agreste looked the next morning, they would have said he looked like an excited puppy. And if anyone had known him better than that, they would have correct that to 'excited kitten'. He was sitting straight up in his chair, an adorable smile on his face. If he had ears, they would have been perked up. As it was, his hair was trying to do a decent impression of it.

"Dude, calm down," Nino laughed. Adrien just shot him a wink. There was no way he could calm down. But he would try. He had to at least seem normal today.

When Marinette walked into the room, he seemed even more excited, practically bouncing up and down in his seat. He tried to control this by converting the energy into bouncing his leg. Marinette, however, seemed the opposite. She looked tired and worried, and was looking about cautiously like she were about to be attacked.

"Hi Marinette," he said to her, giving her a bright smile. This seemed to perk her up a little, but before she could answer another voice cut through.

"Why the hell have you been ignoring my texts?!" Alya yelled at her.

Marinette winced and quickly sat beside her friend, looking very sheepish. "Sorry Alya, I turned my phone off and only just turned it back on now. I was just getting so many texts."

"Well that's what happens when you're seen on the news rescuing Chat Noir in the middle of a damn Akuma attack! What were you even doing there?!"

"Papa asked me to take the weekly batch of cookies to the hotel," she lied flawlessly. "Then I noticed a fight was going on and that he was in trouble, so I went to help. Besides, he's saved me so many times, I'm just glad I could finally do something for him."

"What if Antibug had seen you?" her friend cried. "Chloé hates you enough when she's just Chloé!"

"Relax, Alya, I'm not an idiot." She rolled her eyes in a way that was just so Ladybug he had to bite his lip to stop himself from saying something. "I played a news clip of Ladybug talking to draw her away. Antibug broke my phone when she found it, but Ladybug's Miraculous Cure fixed it."

"I'm serious, Marinette! What if you'd gotten hurt?! I can't lose my girl!"

"I didn't, I'm fine, Alya. Besides, now you know what it's like when _you_ go running off to start filming stuff for the Ladyblog. I mean, you almost got sacrificed that one time! It was scary."

"As I recall, _you_ were one of the mummies trying to sacrifice me!" she countered. "But I get your point. I'll try to be a bit more careful for you, but you do know that it's going to be like that a lot when I become a proper journalist, right? It just comes with the job." Marinette just sighed, flopping down so her torso was lying across their desk. "So... What was it like saving Chat Noir?" Alya hedged.

"I don't know... normal? Kind of. It's not like anything out of the normal happened. I pulled him in, he flirted a bit and was all 'Thank you, Princess. You should get to safety now'. That was it."

"Princess?" Alya said, raising her brow.

Marinette groaned. "It's what he started calling me when I helped him out when Nathanaël was Akumatized. He just such a flirt, I swear."

"Oh really?" Alya said with a smirk. "I think a certain kitty cat likes you, Marinette."

"What? No! He - he doesn't, trust me. We hardly know each other. And he likes Ladybug... And you aren't allowed to be all 'ooh! He likes you!' You're a Ladynoir shipper!"

"I'm also an Adrinette shipper, but I can make an exception for Marichat."

There was a small thunk as Marinette's head hit the desk. "You did not just create a ship name for me and Chat Noir," she groaned, her voice muffled.

Adrien wasn't sure what 'Adrinette' was supposed to be, but he found the new 'Marichat' ship name highly entertaining. With how hard he'd been crushing on Marinette (no matter how in denial he'd been about it) it could have been an actual thing if he'd ever acted on it.

"Hey, here comes Antibug," Alya said with a grin as Chloé came in. Sabrina came in after her, making her smile even more. "Followed by the Invisible One! We just need Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Once again Adrien had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing. If only Alya knew...

He listened as the two girls watched Chloé and Sabrina interact, talking quietly as they did.

"Did you see that? Chloé smiled at her! Well, in her own way... I think Chloé is happy to have Sabrina back."

"It's weird, yeah. But it looks like both of them are happy."

"I think those two will always be friends... Well, in their own way."

"Yeah, but in any case, I prefer our friendship," Alya said.

The two girls fist bumped and Adrien couldn't help smiling. They were so cute. Especially Marinette... He wanted her to know now.

Okay, so what if he was impatient? He just had to find a way to tell her. Only problem was, it wasn't always easy talking to Marinette. Sometimes one or both of them would freeze up. And Ladybug always did all she could to avoid her identity being figured out, he knew that she would probably try sidestepping anything he tried to bring up. And it wasn't like he could just blurt it out to her.

That's when an idea came to him. He grabbed out his phone and changed it to silent, since Miss Bustier was starting the lesson now. He opened a new chat, then frowned when he realised that he didn't have Marinette's number. But he knew someone who would...

' _Hey, Alya. I just realised I don't have Mari's number. Could I grab it off you?_ '

' _Jeez about time!_ ' was the reply he got, followed by a number. He saved it under 'Princess', because why not. His phone lit up again and he saw her next message.

' _She doesn't have your number either. You might want to tell her who's texting._ '

' _Okay. Thanks Alya_ ,' he replied, a smirk growing on his face. Yeah, he would tell her... eventually. But if she didn't have his number, that meant he could get away with texting her as Chat for a little while.

He contemplated how he was going to do this for a moment. Was he going to call her 'My Lady'? Was he going to make some sort of pun? Instead, something she had said yesterday flitted through his head, and he found himself typing out an apology.

' _I'm sorry. I hesitated._ ' When he heard her phone vibrate quietly, he chanced a glance behind him. She was looking at her phone in confusion.

' _What do you mean? Who is this?_ ' was what he revived in reply.

'When Chloé caught me yesterday. It was because I hesitated.'

' _She's been my friend for so long. One of my only friends. Even if she has been getting worse over the years. And it was really hard to fight her because of that. Especially when I realised that she wasn't all that different as an Akuma than what she normaly is these days._ '

'So that's why she managed to tie me to my own staff... Since you asked.'

There was a sharp intake of breath from behind him and he hid a smirk.

"Having fun texting your boyfriend, Mari- ...Are you alright?" Alya's voice went from teasing to concerned.

"Yep! I'm fine!" she squeaked. Clearly a lie.

' _Sorry, what? I don't know what you're talking about. Who's Chole? Who's this?_ '

Her text made him deflate slightly, but he understood why she had sent it. She was panicking. She knew that Chat Noir was texting her, that was obviously something she'd been worried about. She was protective of her identity, and he knew who she was.

' _I can see you, you know, Princess. I know you're lying._ '

' _I'm sorry. I didn't mean to find out, but I saw the news. I don't know how I didn't notice it before._ '

' _Well, I did. But I didn't let myself hope I was right. My luck isn't that good._ '

' _Wait, you can see me? Are you in my class? How did you even get my number Chat?!_ '

' _I got it off a mutual friend of ours. You know, the one sitting right beside you who has a tenancy to stalk us for fun?_ '

' _And yes, I am in your class, Princess. In fact, I imagine you've got a pretty good view of my ass from there._ '

The moment he sent that text, a huge Chat-like grin spread across his face. The kind that many of the Ladyblog commenters had dubbed his 'shit-eating grin'. Nino seemed to notice this and nudged him.

"Dude, what's up with that grin? You look like the cat that caught the canary!"

He was about to wave his friend off with an 'oh, nothing' when a loud squeak came from behind him, and Marinette's phone clattered to the floor, landing beside him. She scrambled from her desk and picked it up. For a moment her startled, wide, blue eyes met his. If it was possible, her eyes widened even further. She let out another squeak and before he could blink, she was bolting to the door.

"Marinette!" Miss Bustier's voice stopped her. "Where do you think you're going in the middle of class?"

The poor girl looked panicked and he frowned. Why did he do that? Now she was running away from him. "Ah... I just got a message from Chat Noir," she said quickly. "He wants to talk me about yesterday and about staying safe from that Hawkbutterfly guy. Like... right now!" She looked pointedly at Adrien and he smiled and gave her a small nod as relief flooded through him. Okay. Not running away from him.

"Oh my god! For the hundredth time, it's Hawkmoth, Marinette! Hawk- _MOTH_!"

Miss Bustier just sighed. "Alright, you may go."

"I swear, if she calls him Hawkbutterfly in front of Chat Noir, I'm going to throw myself into the Seine in embarrassment," Alya muttered. Adrien actually chuckled this time. If only she knew.

He gave it a moment before he raised his hand to get Miss Bustier's attention, asking if he could go to the bathroom. When he walked out of the class, he could see her leaning against the wall at the end of the hallway. Hands in his pockets, he walked over to her and leaned against the wall beside her. She seemed so lost in thought that she didn't even notice his arrival.

"Hey," he said quietly, grabbing her attention.

"Ah!" she squeaked, jumping a good foot in the air. When she saw him, she placed her hand over her heart in relief, thought he panic still didn't leave her eyes.

"Sorry." He winced.

"It's... it's okay," she said. "It's just... a little overwhelming."

"Yeah, tell me about it," he sighed. "At least I was at home... I should have waited. I guess I was just a little excited." She shot him a doubtful look from under her fringe. "What?"

"You're really okay that I'm Ladybug?"

"Why wouldn't I be?! Ladybug turning out to be you? I am more than okay."

"He's ecstatic," a voice piped up. Adrien's face dropped into the perfect expression of 'oh no' "You should have seen him last night. He was bouncing around and wouldn't stop talking about how-"

"Plagg, if you stop talking right now I promise I will buy you two whole wheels of camembert after school."

A small back head popped out of his shirt pocket "Really?"

"Yes, really."

"You got yourself a deal."

"You are too nice to him," a small voice said. He looked down at Marinette's hip where her bag had popped open to reveal a small red creature. She looked a lot like Plagg, only more like a Ladybug-like.

"That's rich coming from someone who's chosen is a baker's daughter. I bet there's a lot of cookies there, right, Tikki?" The Ladybug Kwami poked her tongue out at him. "Now shush! You're jeopardising my cheese!" He turned back to Adrien. "We'll leave you and your girlfriend alone to talk now." And with that, he was gone.

Adrien rubbed at the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Heh... Sorry about that." A light blush covered his cheeks. "And for all the all the flirting. I know you don't really like it."

"Hold up, Kitty. I never actually said that. I mean, you're a total dork, but I didn't exactly hate it _all_ the time."

"Wait, really?" he said, a sly smile growing on his face. Her eyes widened.

"That doesn't mean you start now!" A bright blush spread across her cheeks and he looked at her curiously. He thought he heard her mutter 'I wouldn't be able to handle that with you being Adrien', but that couldn't have been, right? ...Could it? "Maybe we should talk some more about this after school. We'll have more time then... and more privacy. What excuse did you use?"

"Standard bathroom excuse," he said with a shrug.

"Right, so we really should get back soon."

"That would be a good idea. Though, it's not like they aren't used to us dashing to the bathroom for an hour or so." He shot her a wink, and Marinette couldn't help but pushed off the wall and they began to very slowly walk back. "So, protection from _Hawkbutterfly_ , huh?"

Marinette giggled. "I gotta throw her off somehow. I'll just tell her you said you'd check up on me every now and then."

"Does that mean I get to pop by your house sometimes as Chat?"

She said nothing, just rolling her eyes. Instead of replying, she grabbed her phone out and began texting. Probably sending something to Alya. It was when they had reached the door that she finally spoke again. "By the way, Kitty... I'm glad it's you." She gave him a soft smile before turning and walking into the class.

He had been about to follow when he felt his phone go off in his pocket. He was confused to see it was a text from Marinette. A reply to his last text.

' _Well you're not wrong. Why do you think I chose that seat?_ '

He sucked in a sharp breath. Did she just...

This girl was going to be the death of him.


End file.
